NBA Communications

NEW YORK – Former WNBA MVPs Maya Moore of the Minnesota Lynx and Elena Delle Donne of the Washington Mystics are the leading vote-getters after the first fan returns of WNBA All-Star Voting 2018 presented by Verizon. The first 15 days of fan voting generated 37 percent more votes (489,583) than the same period in 2017 (357,882).

The 15th WNBA All-Star Game will take place on Saturday, July 28 at Target Center in Minneapolis. ABC will televise the game live at 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT.

Under the revamped format for Verizon WNBA All-Star 2018, a pool of 22 All-Stars will be selected without regard for conference affiliation through voting by fans (40 percent of the vote), current WNBA players and head coaches (20 percent each), and a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters (20 percent). The two All-Stars, regardless of conference, who receive the highest overall vote totals will serve as team captains and draft their respective rosters from the remaining pool of 20 All-Stars.

Moore, the 2014 WNBA MVP and a starter in each of her five All-Star appearances, leads all players with 25,496 votes. Delle Donne, the 2015 MVP and a four-time All-Star selection, is second with 24,152 votes. Moore was the top vote-getter for the 2016 and 2014 All-Star Games. Delle Donne paced all players in 2015 and as a first-year player in 2013, when she became the first rookie in WNBA history to earn the most votes.

Moore and Delle Donne are followed in this year’s voting by two-time WNBA MVP Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks (21,136), 2009 MVP Diana Taurasi of the Phoenix Mercury (20,460), and 10-time All-Star Sue Bird of the Seattle Storm (20,362). Bird is tied with Tamika Catchings for the most All-Star selections in WNBA history.

See below for the first fan returns of WNBA All-Star Voting 2018 presented by Verizon:

Maya Moore (MIN) 25,496

Elena Delle Donne (WAS) 24,152

Candace Parker (LA) 21,136

Diana Taurasi (PHX) 20,460

Sue Bird (SEA) 20,362

Breanna Stewart (SEA) 19,354

A’ja Wilson (LV) 18,768

Sylvia Fowles (MIN) 17,843

Skylar Diggins-Smith (DAL) 16,177

Nneka Ogwumike (LA) 16,103

Brittney Griner (PHX) 15,386

Seimone Augustus (MIN) 12,145

Lindsay Whalen (MIN) 9,889

Jewell Loyd (SEA) 9,818

Chiney Ogwumike (CON) 9,452

Chelsea Gray (LA) 9,403

Tina Charles (NY) 9,268

Rebekkah Brunson (MIN) 8,940

Liz Cambage (DAL) 8,680

Alana Beard (LA) 6,458

Natasha Howard (SEA) 6,315

DeWanna Bonner (PHX) 6,005

Angel McCoughtry (ATL) 5,672

Kayla McBride (LV) 5,524

Victoria Vivians (IND) 5,420

Kristi Toliver (WAS) 5,061

Kia Nurse (NY) 4,998

Odyssey Sims (LA) 4,772

Gabby Williams (CHI) 4,467

Allisha Gray (DAL) 4,235

Diamond DeShields (CHI) 4,186

Tiffany Hayes (ATL) 4,120

Candice Dupree (IND) 4,078

Jonquel Jones (CON) 3,514

Cecilia Zandalasini (MIN) 3,452

Alyssa Thomas (CON) 3,281

Allie Quigley (CHI) 3,233

Kelsey Plum (LV) 3,196

Jasmine Thomas (CON) 3,155

Kelsey Mitchell (IND) 3,134

After all votes are tallied, players will be ranked within each of the four voting groups – fan votes, player votes, head coach votes and media votes. Each player’s score will be calculated by averaging her weighted rank applied to the respective voting groups. The 22 players with the highest overall score will form the player pool for Verizon WNBA All-Star 2018.

On Tuesday, July 17, the 22 All-Stars will be announced. In the following days, the captains will draft their respective teams from the remaining 20 All-Stars to form two 11-player rosters. Details about the draft will be announced at a later date.

The All-Star rosters will be revealed on Thursday, July 19 during ESPN2’s telecast of a game between Washington and Dallas (8 p.m. ET tip-off).

The head coaches for Verizon WNBA All-Star 2018 will be the head coaches of the two teams with the best records through games on Friday, July 13. The head coach whose team has the best record will coach the All-Star team captained by the highest vote-getter.

On Friday, July 27, the All-Star team captains and head coaches will meet to determine starters for Verizon WNBA All-Star 2018. The starting lineups will be revealed that night on ESPN2 (7 p.m. ET) during a live telecast of the WNBA All-Star Welcome Reception in Minnesota.

WNBA All-Star Voting 2018 presented by Verizon tipped off on Tuesday, June 19 and will conclude on Thursday, July 12 at 11:59 p.m. ET. WNBA fans may submit one full ballot each day through WNBA.com (desktop or mobile) or the WNBA App (available on Android and iOS). Fans may also vote for up to 10 players per day on Twitter. All current WNBA players on team rosters are eligible to receive votes. Additional details regarding voting can be found at http://www.wnba.com/vote/howto/.